1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a fuel cell system and a method of operating the same capable of preventing an increase in a carbon monoxide (CO) concentration and CO poisoning on an anode in a hydrogen side recirculation system when fuel starvation occurs on the hydrogen side during operation of a fuel cell vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
During operation of a fuel cell, fuel-starvation may occur on the hydrogen side of the system if the hydrogen concentration is reduced, thus resulting in the production of CO gases. This means that there is a higher probability that CO poisoning of an electrode catalyst on the hydrogen side of the system may occur.
In a fuel cell system, hydrogen distribution is locally deteriorated when a channel is blocked due to moisture which is diffused in the reverse direction on the cathode during operation. As a result, fuel-starvation occurs on the hydrogen side of the system, thereby creating a higher probability that CO is generated on the anode.
These CO gases poison the catalyst and thus result in the deterioration of the general performance of a fuel cell. When the hydrogen concentration is reduced on the anode, the electrode on the hydrogen side is CO-poisoned, so that the stack performance of the fuel cell gradually deteriorates. Therefore, there is a need for a technology that removes CO-poisoning on the hydrogen side and recovers the stack performance by performing air-bleeding toward the hydrogen side during an idle-stop interval or a shut-down interval of a fuel cell vehicle for the purpose of recovering the stack performance of the fuel cell.
The matters described as the related art have been provided only for facilitating the understanding of the background of the present invention and should not be construed as acknowledging it as the prior art already known to those skilled in the art.